Alliance calls for PM’s ouster

Jailed Anwar offers support for push

KUALA LUMPUR: Former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, opposition leaders and some ruling party members on Friday called for the removal of Prime Minister Najib Razak, who is engulfed in a scandal surrounding state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad.

“It’s not about joining the opposition or any group. It’s about citizens joining together to show support,” said Mr Mahathir, reading from a memorandum agreed by 58 signatories.

Mr Mahathir said the assembled leaders, despite their differences, “shared a goal”: “We must rid ourselves of Najib.”

He was speaking at a joint news conference attended by opposition politicians, anti-government activists and Muhyiddin Yassin, who was sacked as deputy prime minister last year after he openly questioned PM Najib on the 1MDB scandal.

“We call upon all Malaysians, irrespective of race, religion, political situation, creed or parties, young and old, to join us in saving Malaysia from the government headed by Najib Razak,” read the joint statement endorsed by heavyweights from the ruling party, opposition, and top civil society groups.

The “core” group’s agreement also called for the removal of people who covered up misdeeds, the repeal of laws that violate fundamental rights and the restoration of institutions it said had been undermined, including the police and anti-graft agency.

Mr Najib has faced sustained pressure to resign since the middle of last year over 1MDB and deposits into his private accounts worth around US$680 million.

The prime minister has maintained that he has not used the funds for personal gain, and has since been cleared of any criminal offence or corruption.

Mr Mahathir, Malaysia’s longest-serving leader and now 90 years old, was once PM Najib’s ally but has become his fiercest critic and — because of his enduring popularity — a thorn in the side for the prime minsiter.

Last week, he quit the United Malays National Organisation, the party that has led every ruling coalition since Malaysia’s independence in 1957, saying it had become PM Najib’s party and he didn’t want to be associated with corruption.

Ahead of the news conference, the country’s jailed opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim offered support to oust Mr Najib.

Anwar’s offer to help the opposition marked a seismic shift in the political landscape, as a vendetta between him and Mr Mahathir has seethed since Anwar was sacked as deputy prime minister in 1998 and Mr Mahathir had him jailed on sodomy charges that many observers said were politically motivated.

A year ago, Anwar was jailed again on sodomy charges, that he said were concocted by the Najib government to eliminate the threat he posed to its grip on power.

In a statement issued from jail on Thursday, Anwar said he would “support the position” of those in civil society, political parties and individuals, including Mr Mahathir, in the push to remove PM Najib.